Something (Full Murderhobo Book 1) Page 9

  “All of that…” Andre sputtered as his status appeared in front of him.

  Level: 1

  Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 30/200 to level 2!

  Body: 2.45

  Fitness: 2.8

  Resistance: 2.1

  Mind: 6.15

  Talent: 6.2

  Capacity: 6.1

  Presence: 2.25

  Willpower: 2.7

  Charisma: 1.8

  Senses: 1.35

  Physical reaction: 1.7

  Mental energy: 1

  Health: 71

  Mana: 135.8

  Mana regen: 2.06 per second

  “It was…” Andre locked eyes with Xan. “It was worth every second of the abyss that you put me through.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Oh… god. I can't believe I would ever do something that dumb.” Andre was rehashing old conversations with Xan, who was laughing at the embarrassment that the Initiate was feeling.

  “You were given the mind of someone almost a decade older than you, essentially overnight.” Xan finally started helping the young man calm himself, his fun now had. “Of course, you are going to regret things that ‘younger you’ did. If you look back on what you used to do and cringe, it means that you have grown as a person. The important part is that you will be able to keep up with my lessons from now on; I’m sick of explaining things more than once.”

  “I… what’s the next step, then?” Andre took the offered gift of a topic change.

  “We are going to go ponder nature.” Xan told him. With that confusing reply, they dropped out of the treetop and started walking. They quickly passed the marker that had denoted Andre’s free roaming space, and continued for a little over an hour. Xan spoke nearly the entire time, mostly pointing out types of bugs, trees, and animals. “Now, we are going to walk through what will become your daily routine until you are… strongish.”

  They sat on the side of a hill, and Xan waved at the world in front of them. “Everything the light touches is… no, wait. That’s a different speech. This is more than that. So much more than we can see is our domain. You have created a Livingwood Staff and can now start connecting to plants. Your task every morning will be to sprint here - yes, the entire way - and bind with all the plants on this hill.”

  Andre looked around, but had no idea what the man was talking about. “Three trees and a flower? Okay…?”

  “Forgetting anything?” Xan smirked at the youngster. He waited contentedly until he saw realization dawn on the lad. “Ahh, there it is. Yup, all the grass.”

  “But that’s-”

  “Going to take a long time, I know. Remember how I told you that you needed to cultivate patience?” Xan watched his charge’s face fall, and decided that an example was in order. “Andre, why do you think it is important to bind all the plants? Especially grass?”

  “I don’t know; the stuff is everywhere?” Andre spat in frustration.

  “Exactly correct.” With that, Xan started flowing across the grass faster than a horse could gallop… still in his reclined seated position. He made a circle and came back, “A simple Druidic ability, Forestwalk. Still, it is effective for movement and… other things. Come here.”

  Andre stood and started walking over to his teacher. He frowned, realizing that the man wasn't getting any closer. Andre started running, sprinting, then he dove at the man. In all that time, he hadn't managed to move from his starting point on the grass until he jumped. By the time he stood again, he had been returned to his first position. “All right… when do I learn to do that? I want that.”

  “You need to bind enough plants.” Xan informed him with a shrug. “The more you bind with, the more likely that you’ll get an actual ability. It seems random when you get them, because you cannot seek abilities. All abilities are gifts from the earth, and they differ slightly for each Druid. Variation will often get you interesting abilities, and by that, I mean binding to numerous varieties of plant. Honestly, I have no idea how long it will take, or even what abilities you will gain with your starting bonus. All I know is that you gain mainly plant-based abilities from plants.”

  “What’s a starting bonus? Wait… where is your staff?” Andre had just realized that he had never seen his master carrying one. “I thought they were really important for-”

  A staff shot out of the ground into Xan’s waiting hand. “Right here. I’m a Druid of the Third Circle. I have bound with plants, animals, and the earth. That means I have a Livingwood Staff and a Livingstone Focus, as well as a familiar. Creating a Livingwood Staff means that you are a First Circle Druid, and you gain a promotion to a ‘Novice’. Congratulations.”

  “But where was the staff…?” Andre couldn’t stop himself from asking the question; he knew it was dumb.

  “It was in the earth. It is Livingwood, which means it needs nutrients and such. Start here, and work out in a circle. No cheating by going out to other types of plants, not until you’ve earned it.” Xan placed the staff upright on the ground, and roots grew out of it and into the ground. “I’m gonna go take a n… that is, ponder nature over there. Don't bother me until you run out of mana at least five times.”

  “How do I-”

  “You know how to do this now, Andre.” Xan waved and walked off.

  Andre looked at the grass around him and sighed. This was going to take a long time. He reluctantly started, poking the grass and coaxing mana into each blade. The grass loved the attention. It stretched toward him as if he was the sun, and accepted the bond he offered without the slightest hesitation or haughtiness. As he connected to the grass, he learned about it.

  He suddenly knew what the soil was like, if the grass had proper access to light, if its roots were fighting for a tasty, nutrient-rich patch. Before he was even fully aware that there was an issue, Andre collapsed to the ground with a nose bleed.

  Current mana: 0/135.8.

  Your attempt to use mana has forcibly drawn mana from secondary source.

  Current health: 69/71

  “Watch your mana!” Xan called over as soon as the first drop of blood touched the ground. “It’s a bad idea to use your body like that; it can lead to all sorts of nasty side effects. Don't use your health as a source. It only heals naturally! There is no health regeneration characteristic.”

  “Didn’t know hurting myself was possible, Xan!” Andre called back, his irritation flowing across the distance. There was no reply, so Andre scoffed and turned back to his work. “I’m gonna ponder nature, all right, old man. The nature of violence.”

  His mana regenerated at two-point-oh-six mana per second, which meant that it was going to take about seventy seconds to get back to full. Not a terrible trade-off. He sat and meditated as he had been taught over the last month, peeking at his status every once in a while. When his mana was back, he looked at the amount of grass that he had been able to convert and sighed. His hand would cover the entire area with room to spare. This was going to take a long time.

  Two weeks later, Xan seemed to think that Andre had suffered enough. Andre had increased the borders of his bound area to roughly fifteen square meters, which encompassed over ten thousand stalks of grass. He was getting close to the flower on the hilltop, and was almost drooling at the thought of gaining a connection to a new type of plant. Grass was great, but… it was grass.

  “Andre, now that you’ve shown your dedication by doing each blade individually, I am going to show you how to bind to a swath of plants all at once.” Xan’s remark made Andre slowly look up, and he was clearly trying to hold back unkind sentiments.

  “You mean to tell me that I don't have to destroy my back leaning over like this? That I could be done already?” Andre opened his mouth to continue, but Xan held up a hand to stop him.

  “No, doing this was actually very important.” Xan promised him calmly. “You needed to get an instinctual feel for the amount of grass you could bind using the entirety of your mana pool. You’ll understand why in a f
ew moments. Come close and follow my instructions.”

  “Do you remember when I called you a ‘First Circle’ Druid? That has more meaning than just a title.” Xan sketched out a swift circle on the ground, the earth moving the grass away so that there was a perfect circle of bare earth. “This should be about the correct size… now, use your mana to form a circle around these plants.”

  Andre concentrated and attempted to follow instructions, but struggled mightily. The mana wouldn't stay in any shape, instead billowing away as a gaseous cloud whenever he attempted the process. Xan watched his lack of progress, confused, but his expression cleared as he realized the issue. “Ah… right… you don't have several years of practice manipulating your mana internally. That may be an issue, but I suppose I’ll just need to incentivize you.”

  “Please no.”

  “It’ll be fun!” Xan rubbed his hands together. “I’ll teach you the forms, cycling, and mana control exercises over the next month. After that, every week that you are unable to complete this task, I’ll reduce my protection on the area by a set amount. Each week, the beasts and creatures will get just that much closer. I’ll probably be able to keep them off you, even if we get really close… but hey, I need to test my limits as well, right?”

  “Learning is just the best,” Andre stated flatly, specks of blood leaving his lips as he added too much mana to another failed circle.

  Chapter Fifteen

  - Taylor -

  “You’re pretty messed up, Master Don.” Taylor was scrutinizing the landscape, the stacks of books that went on forever, and the flames that were reflected in Master Don’s eyes. His peaceful smile as he had sent the undulating ball of plasma into the sheaf of happy spellforms would appear in her dreams tonight for certain.

  “Ahh… apprentice.” Master Don took a deep breath, relishing in the scent of burning paper and boiling ink. “Ask yourself, how did a man with the lowest starting mana pool in history become arguably the most powerful Archmage on our planet?”

  “Before I got to know you, I’d say that it was likely a combination of working harder than everyone else combined, plus a lot of luck.” Taylor took in the crisping landscape as oily smoke rose into the air. “Now… I’m going to have to guess… specializing in area-of-effect spells?”

  “All of that, and just a smidge more.” He started striding toward the exterminated spellforms, motioning for her to hurry up. “One, I had an excellent teacher that truly cared about what happened to me, and he helped me learn the very important lesson that I have been guiding you toward for the last half year. What is that lesson, Taylor?”

  “There are no compromises on the path to power, unless the compromise is worth more than you give up,” she recited clearly, knowing from experience that if she mumbled he would make her repeat herself. “Everything here is a step on that path, and if it doesn't join you, make sure to take its Potentia.”

  “No, that’s the lesson that I have been teaching you.” Master Don tapped his chin as a spike erupted from his book and skewered a charging Knockback. The bull-shaped spellform unraveled, falling apart into ink, paper, and a cloud of light that drifted over and sank into Master Don or the Grimoire that he never let Taylor see.. “The lesson that I have been trying to guide you toward is that there is no such thing as honor. Dignity is a fool’s word, and I needed to grab power, no matter what the cost.”

  “Frankly, you’re better than I was.” He nodded at her respectfully. “That’s why I changed the lesson that you were going to be taught. I think that you have what it takes to be the next Archmage. The Kingdom needs someone that can take my place, and be respected… not just feared, like I am.”

  “There you go again!” Taylor threw her hands into the air. “There’s no chance that I become the next Archmage! Plus, people respect you. They have no choice!”

  “Wrong. I have the power and authority to make them regret acting out.” Don sternly stopped her. “I know that they despise my methods, and most think that I am nothing more than the Kingdom’s trump card. They are correct, but for the wrong reasons. I was simply taught that my success was the most important thing, and the lesson stuck. You, though-”

  Taylor interrupted, quoting the words she had heard dozens of times: “‘I can train you properly, and you’ll be a shining light in the darkness of the Hollow Kingdom’. I know it, Don, but I just can’t believe it.”

  “Which is why we are going to my personal hunting grounds. We are going to fill your spellbook with the most powerful spells we can find, and then make you practice using them until you can ruthlessly destroy anything they put in your path,” he explained patiently. “Ooh. I like that word. Ruthless. Perhaps I’ll make it the title of my autobiography one day.”

  “So much for not being feared, and who is this ephemeral ‘they’?” Taylor tiredly inquired. While they were speaking, she stole a glance at her status, pleased with her progress, though she didn't want to tell Don that. He was being irritable today. She had gained a level every other month, and that was even while she was devoting Potentia to her spells to upgrade them.

  CAL Scan

  Level: 3

  Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 445/500 to level 4!

  Body: 1.4

  Fitness: 1.7

  Resistance: 1.1

  Mind: 8.9

  Talent: 10.5

  Capacity: 7.3

  Presence: 1.9

  Willpower: 1.7

  Charisma: 2.1

  Senses: 5.1

  Physical reaction: 8.1

  Mental energy: 2.1

  Health: 61

  Mana: 165

  Mana regen: 3.5 per second

  Spells

  T1: 2

  See full listing?

  Although she didn’t yet know what exactly they did, any increase was a good one. Taylor was pleased that she had managed to increase everything a little without using her leveling points. Since she was in a ‘party’ with her master, she got a fraction of the Potentia that he earned, and just the small amount had been enough to push her most of the way to level four. The direct increases had gone into Mind sub-characteristics twice, and she had been forced by her Master to increase her Senses to stay alive without any defensive spells.

  Taylor froze and dismissed her status when she realized that Don had gone silent. She glanced over at him guiltily and was confronted by an arched brow before he continued speaking. “All done preening over your stats? That is considered rude, you know.”

  She flushed at the reminder. “I know, sorry.”

  “Hmm. Courtly mannerisms.” Master Don shook his head in disgust. “Lord of Flame’s fiery beard, I need to teach you etiquette as well, don’t I? Good thing we have a few more years… which is also the answer to your question. The ‘they’ I had been referencing includes Nobles, Merchants, the Royal family, and the various guilds that represent the commoners. When I say that ‘they’ dislike how utterly needed I am, just feel free to believe me.”

  “Ignore that for now; it is finally time to get you a defense spell. With your Talent already above ten, there are so many spells you could learn. If you manage to do so…” he shook his hands at the sky and shouted, “I can finally go take a nap! Hah! In all seriousness, I will be letting you go off and discover things on your own - most of the time - after you are more well-protected.”

  Taylor perked up at that, looking forward to the upcoming trip just a little bit more. They walked through the herd of decimated spellforms and paused near the stacks of books. Master Don gave her a level stare. “I need an oath from you. You will never show anyone how to do this, except the person you plan to have replace you as Archmage. Your personal apprentice, not just another Namer that you train. Understood?”

  She nodded, but was required to give a verbal answer. She rolled her eyes, but did it. “Yes, I swear.”

  Don stepped toward her as her sigil lit up and a thin line raced across it, signifying that she had been bound to her word. He pulled her c
lose, then reached out and grasped a book. Instead of flapping and attempting to escape like any normal book would… this one let out a *click*. All Taylor could manage to get out was, “What?”

  Then they fell through the ground.

  Before she could even scream, they landed, and Taylor was able to see the illusion they had just passed through. Master Don started walking forward right away, grimmer and more serious than she had ever seen him. “Taylor, do you know why I call you a ‘Namer’, and not a ‘Mage’?”

  “I honestly have no idea.” She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. “Can we talk about how I thought we were falling to our deaths just now?”

  “It’s because you have something just a little bit extra.” Master Don considered his words carefully, swallowing deeply before continuing. “Now, I took you here because I have determined that you are to be my successor, and that means I plan to give you everything I know. I’m not just training you like I would another. A Mage and a Namer are the same in all things… except one.”

  Taylor had to try really hard not to smack the information out of him, remaining cool and aloof while he pondered how to teach her. He mumbled after a few moments, “Now I know why my Master had such a hard time doing this… can never practice explaining it to anyone.”